Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/652704
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 MARCH 2016 41 Environment DR GEORGE DEBONO A recent think tank (TPPI) report quoted the findings of a number of surveys which indicate a serious health deficit among our children. It was therefore encouraging to read the views expressed by our Chil- dren's Commissioner, supporting our appalling health findings in re- gard to children. It is now universally recognised that unhealthy children tend to grow into unhealthy adults, therefore it is important that we invest in our chil- dren to ensure the health of coming generations. However, there seems little hope of improving our chil- dren's health as long as ensuring a healthy lifestyle for our children con- tinues to get low priority from gov- ernments who are only interested in projects where there is money to be made – all of which are starting to look increasingly unsustainable. As indicated by Ms Miceli, all new projects are based on investment in capital projects as more un-needed apartment blocks, supermarkets, or pandering to traffic with yet more parking facilities, wider roads, petrol stations etc., all of which encourage more traffic and pollution. There is no investment in our chil- dren – who are our future. Rather than being encouraged to take up healthy activities, our young are growing up exposed to commercial pressures to contribute to the enter- tainment industry as soon as possible by flocking to discos and bars to buy alcoholic drinks. As correctly argued by Ms Miceli, there are no alterna- tives to entertainment hot spots like Paceville for our youth. The skate-park at the tal-Qroqq roundabout typifies how much our governments are prepared to invest in the health of our children by al- locating them a site which in what is possibly the most polluted patch in Malta. So much for investment in our children! Disregard of chil- dren's needs was also seen in the expropriation of the Vikings Sailing Club and the refusal to allow use of derelict rooms at Sliema Point as a windsurfing club for youngsters. As Ms Miceli stated: "We need more spaces… where teenagers can vent their energies". Due to the unhealthy urban envi- ronment most of our children grow up in, "children can no longer play in our streets because the motor- ised vehicle has taken possession of our streets ". Children and the aged are those most affected by our de- graded traffic-orientated urban road environment but their special needs continue to be disregarded. Maltese children miss out on walking and, es- pecially, cycling – both of which are healthy, enjoyable physical activities. Children are largely denied healthy outlets by parental concerns about road safety. Young children conse- quently tend to be kept indoors and watch too much television, laying the foundations for future ill-health from physical inactivity and obesity. Older children cannot gain inde- pendence as they are not allowed to ride bicycles or walk to school, thus adopting lazy habits, car-depend- ency and physical passivity, largely because of our hostile street environ- ment. In this context see: http://play- ingout.net/about/who-we-are/ Children's environment starts at their doorstep and fostering a culture of children playing and socialising out in their own safe streets would help ensure our children's health. More importance must be given to their physical needs and they must be given the means and encourage- ment to indulge in exercise. That people need a car is undis- puted; what is disputed here is the dominance of the car over the social function of our streets. This domi- nance is gradually being reversed in most countries. It must, and can, be reduced in Malta too. Dr George Debono is a founder member of FAA and Committee Member of the Today Public Policy Institute Honduras is still reeling from last week's assassination of Berta Cáceres, one of the country's most well-known environmental and indigenous leaders. She was gunned down in her home early Thursday, less than a year after she won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. Cáceres is at least the 110th environmental or land defender to be killed in Honduras since 2010 in the wake of a U.S.-supported coup. At the time of her assassination, Berta was with another well-known environmental campaigner, Gustavo Castro Soto, coordinator of Friends of the Earth Mexico. He was shot twice in the attack. Over the weekend, Castro attempted to leave Honduras, but authorities blocked his exit, even though he was accompanied by the Mexican ambassador. Castro was eventually ordered to return to the town of La Esperanza, where Berta Cáceres had been gunned down. Castro has been held there ever since for additional questioning, the Honduran government says. Bird migration started early this year and naturalists are not surprised. Considering we had a February which felt more like April, birds saw no reason to stay on in Africa when there was travelling to be done, and nests do not build themselves. So all the millions that flew south last autumn are now speeding back north to find a nice place where to raise a family. Crossing the Med are also several species of wild duck, among which is the ultimate icon of duckhood: the mallard (M: kuluvert). Not because it's any more duck than a teal or a pintail, but the mallard is the species that has been most domesticated and therefore most familiar with humans. Domestic mallards come in many colour combinations but a true wild mallard drake carries the iridiscent green head, yellow bill, grey back and black backside. Wild mallards are frequently seen on passage around Malta, though not often in spring, and one or two occasionally splash down for a rest in shallow lakes like Għadira and Is-Simar nature reserves. GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 400: SIGN THE PETITION: Sign the petition: Help us secure Gustavo's safety – http://www.foemalta.org/links/freegustavo Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text Victor Falzon Photo Aron Tanti 497. MALLARD Ensuring children's health Further reading Healthy Mobility Sliema: http://www.tppi.org.mt/images/reports/ sliema%20mobility.pdf The Environmental Dimension of Malta's ill-Health and action to prevent Obesity, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease and Dementia. http://www.tppi.org.mt/index.php/reports/659-report-maltas-ill- health Towards a Low Carbon Society: The Nation's Health, Energy Security and Fossil Fuels http://www.tppi.org.mt/reports/Low-Car- bon-Society/Report.pdf Honduran activist Berta Cáceres died in Gustavo Castro Soto's arms - Now his life is in danger